I've not got up to full speed with the panniers on yet so I'm guessing it's prone to a bit of a weave. without the panniers it handles really well, when I had it better t's than my DVT S in some respects. When I pick it up from the service I will double check it is a steering damper. It definitely looks like one.
Just read this article... Ducati turns Multistrada 1200 into an Enduro it states... "Improved off-road control and stability are evident with the addition of a steering damper, 19" spoked front and 17" spoked rear wheels, and an interesting addition the company is referring to as Vehicle Hold Control, which is said to make fully loaded uphill starts a little easier. Ducati also equipped the Enduro with a shell-cast aluminum double-sided swingarm; a distinct departure from the single-side version on the Multistrada." I have no idea about "vehicle hold control" unless they mean that rear break actually works now, which it does. I will let you know what it's like on the road at speed (private road of corse)
Vehicle Hold Control - hmm, didn't even know I had this... will give it a go and let you know. Ducati Vehicle Hold Control (VHC)
The steering damper is under the head-stock. Turn your enduro steering to one side & look up from under the front-wheel. Quick look at mine over at Aylesbury today to check the kits been fitted & carbon thrown on it,...starting to come together.
Thanks, I spotted it is which is why I was wondering if the DVT had it as well. It's the Hill Start I didn't know about. But thank you for taking time to let me know, help is always appreciated. I can see an interesting problem with the hill start if you park face onto a curb and then grab the front break for some reason which will activate it.
Personally I'd worry if a new bike came with a steering damper fitted as standard. What do they know that we don't ?
Th damper is for off road and doesn't seem to cut in on normal use. The handling is much better at speed than the DVT, especially two up. I can see why the guys who reviewed the bikes said they prefer it to the DVT. On closer inspection it's an odd damper as you have no manual control and it has no effect going about town. I think the idea is that it stops the front end snapping round in ruts which heavy off road bikes have a habit of doing. I've certainly experienced that in the past. Dampers on sports bikes fulfill the very different roles of stopping weave. Something my old GSX1100 managed a lot of.
Sorry ColT, don't agree with you there, you don't see many steering dampers on off road bikes, large or small. Mate of mine fitted a damper to his KTM 200 as it was known to tank slap at speed, nothing to do with ruts.
P.s. Could it be the enduro supposedly handles better because it has a steering damper, not because of any better steering geometry ?
I've agreed with you last statement but if you read the scrambler and enduro forums you will see that they are common place with many swearing by them. I used to use them when I did Enduro on the larger bikes but never when I did Motor-x or Trials for obvious reasons. Also, they are not dampers in the road bike sense, they tend to just stop sudden snapping rather than uncontrolled weaving leading to tank slappers. That said unless Ducati fess up we will never know but I do agree that the better handling could be down to having a damper compared to the DVT and having those massive aluminium cans stuck to the side when touring isn't going to help handling.
Looks gorgeous. But... for the price it should be more robust. For example all big adventure bikes should take the simple drop test. If you drop the Enduro the hand guards will break exactly like DVTs handguards... and so on. Ducati engineers in R&D must be narrow sighted. They should look farther at KTM and BMW for off road, since they are the competition.
I completely agree, looks like they were told to do the best you can without any new parts if possible. It's still better than the DVT for my needs but there are some niggles that have you wondering why they didn't do a better job. I suspect Touratech will release a load of upgrades thought Ducati. Of course not everyone will be going off road but will still want the bigger tank and better suspension so you could argue that they should not need to pay for it as standard.
